How to succeed in booking a group cruise

[sgttami]

I will only say,"DON'T DO IT."    Once was enough for me....(LOL)

 

Started with a group pf 20 and ended up with 7 of us going.  As soon as the final $$$ was needed, the others ran every which way, except to the bank! (This was a Club Med trip, not a cruise)

 

Never did it again.

 

Happy Solo Traveller!

[Linsuesue]

2 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

What is your point in wanting to book this group cruise?

Are you trying to be kind-hearted? Do you think you will be getting some kind of travel agent experience? Do you think you are doing them a "favor?"

 

Well, unpaid work at this level is just silly. 

 

There is a reason most large group bookings give a free cabin to the organizer- that person deserves a gift for all the time spent organizing.  Nowadays most large group bookings are overseen by an expert agency that will work directly with all the individuals traveling to: discuss payment options and deadlines, take deposits by card or check, explain the different cabin sizes and prices, dining options, shore excursions, etc., etc. They may also have to address travel logistics, such as flights, insurance, extras, changes, etc.

 

I've been involved with several group cruise bookings, including with my own family, and I also second those above who say Never Again. I especially shudder at wondering why the previous booking was a "dismal failure,"--could it really be only the fault of the vacation planner, or did the retirees have too many demands and needs that could not be met easily. The fact that they all want to "share" the incentives is already sending a message.

 

There are agents who specialize in group travel, and they will receive a nice commission for doing all that work, so you should be happy to delegate to them.  If you put yourself in the middle, you could be legally liable as well as emotionally distraught for any and all unhappy outcomes.  Think this over carefully before you commit- the effort is not as "fun" as you may think.

 

Good luck!

   Thank you for your thoughtful response! I can tell you know your way around your cruise bookings.  The lady I will be helping planned the first cruise on her own with the help of a “Travel Planner”  30 people went in 15 cabins. This was not a Carnival cruise and the bogo airfare was arranged through the cruise line. Payments went through the travel agent. Two of the adults in our group were challenged and were traveling with their caretakers. I was not one of the original sign ups in the group and didnt get in until a couple of months after the group started. Airfare for our challenged guests was not connected to their caretakers-like it should have been. According to the airlines there was nothing noted that any disabilities were noted in their files. The Travel Planner led the lady to believe that it would be so much easier if she planned all of the hotel reservations. Well, one week before we cruised we called the hotel to check on a shuttle to the port and confirm the rooms. Guess what? The challenged adults never had a room booked. The travel planner said the members in our group could still collect their hotel points. That wasnt true either because the hotel wouldnt give the individuals their hotel points. The travel planner booked them on Expedia and I gather the travel planner got the rewards from that. She told us all we weren’t elegible for price drops in the cruise fares because we were in a group-not true. She told us that once the cruise line airfare department books the airline reservations that they couldnt be changed-not true. Hours after the Fort Lauderdale airport closed due to flooding, she sent out an email about it. Meanwhile the rest of us helped the Ft. Lauderdale arrival people to switch flights and transportation. I don’t think I am silly, but I think I can help people book a hotel reservation properly. We all pay for our education, and we learned a great deal about that travel planner being our helper! The gift she gave each one of us for booking with her was…One luggage tag and a hook magnet-per person. Should she have suggested that each challenged person should probably have been booked with 1 caretaker? That way any airline hang ups would have left 1 responsible person to help the challenged adult through airports and transportation to the hotel-Definitley! We werent a demanding bunch of entitled cruisers. Everything that our travel planner failed to do-we did on our own at monthly travel club meetings. We did videos of the rooms on board, made laminated credit card size lists of all venues on the ships and where they were located, went over the tender port, how and when to make reservations for the dinners and shows onboard, listed the miscellaneous venues and games that were available, investigated excursions, I went on cruise critic and read live reviews of people on board, went over which excursions listed that might be too strenuous for some of our group, I sent everyone links to check out the menus for the restaurants onboard, and I researched the answer for many of the questions people had. I think putting together a cruise group for our retirement community is a great thing. If us co-conductors can get a room discount, or a free room-great. If we can each get a Carnival gift for being part of a group-even better. If each person in our group of people with limited incomes can get some kind of group discount, that would be a delight! I have no desire to be a paid travel agent and I am not doing anybody a favor by helping. The goal is to get a great cruise booked at a great price and to enjoy a vacation with a group of friends and neighbors! 

[sparks1093]

22 hours ago, Drazil65 said:

Speaking from experience (did something similar years ago for "friends" and they needed 8-10 cabins at the time they asked me to do it) my advice to you is, do some research for them then put all the info together for them in a bullet point email (everything in writing).  List their options as you see it (ie...everyone book their own cabin...use a PVP and give them the phone number to call to get one...they can appoint a central contact to do the booking among themselves) and send it to the person that asked you (CC whomever).   

 

I will never do the bookings for a group again, it started out just fine but the changes, the wants and needs, the complaints, the additions and cancels etc) was never ending.  This taught me a very valuable lesson many years ago about people in general taking responsibility for their decisions (they dont in many cases as long as they have someone to blame and complain to).  Now I provide information in bullet points and give the info for this site as well,  then back away (and make it clear this is as far as I can go).  Good Luck!!!

I can second this. It's a major headache and the more people involved the more of a headache it is. We have a day care cruise coming up next year (DW likes to cruise with the families that use her day care) and I simply provided the basic information to them and let them handle their own booking. I also provided the name of our PVP so they could have our reservations linked. There's been talk of me arranging all of the air travel and my stomach churns at the thought. On the trip we just completed there were only 5 of us and that was nightmarish enough.

[Joebucks]

I absolutely agree with everyone who says run away as fast you can. People will complain, need to change, not pay, not respond, etc. If you want to take the lead, I'd go as far as help select the initial plans, email everyone the link to the itinerary, and be available for basic questions. If they want to book, they can book. If I was a betting man, the group will never be as big as you initially think it will be. 

[lazydayz]

I booked a wedding cruise for my daughter and ended up with 20 rooms.  Some chose to be in the group, but I did not because I got better pricing for myself due to other factors.  All of us used the same travel agent, and she dealt with each cabin individually.  Those in the group got OBC, and some gifts from the TA. 

 

I did get involved near the end when the TA and Carnival wanted to charge a "change" fee when the mother of the groom died just weeks before the cruise. 

 

All in all, it was a success, but other than transport to and from the ship (hired a bus to pick up from three locations and drop off at the same places), and the actual wedding and reception, we simply told the others what we were doing and they could come or not.  Dinners were fun, as we had three big tables with an assigned dining time.  We would just switch tables so everyone got to interact with who they wanted.  

 

But I would not do this without a TA who deals directly with each cabin.  

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, lazydayz said:

I booked a wedding cruise for my daughter and ended up with 20 rooms.  Some chose to be in the group, but I did not because I got better pricing for myself due to other factors.  All of us used the same travel agent, and she dealt with each cabin individually.  Those in the group got OBC, and some gifts from the TA. 

 

I did get involved near the end when the TA and Carnival wanted to charge a "change" fee when the mother of the groom died just weeks before the cruise. 

 

All in all, it was a success, but other than transport to and from the ship (hired a bus to pick up from three locations and drop off at the same places), and the actual wedding and reception, we simply told the others what we were doing and they could come or not.  Dinners were fun, as we had three big tables with an assigned dining time.  We would just switch tables so everyone got to interact with who they wanted.  

 

But I would not do this without a TA who deals directly with each cabin.  

Sounds great except for the Mother of the groom passing.  I wondered how Carnival would handle that scenario.  I hope it wasn't too big of a battle to have them behave in a humane fashion.  

[lazydayz]

13 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Sounds great except for the Mother of the groom passing.  I wondered how Carnival would handle that scenario.  I hope it wasn't too big of a battle to have them behave in a humane fashion.  

 

Once Carnival understood the reason why a change was needed, they were cooperative in allowing us to add the groom's uncle in place of the groom's mom.  Yes, a family death so close to the wedding was awful, but not unexpected.  Really felt for the bride and groom, but they decided to carry on as his mom often told them, "life is for the living."  And it was nice that the groom had his uncle and aunt there to support him.  

[Nic6318]

Hi 

 

I think you have a general consensus.  DON'T DO IT

 

I agree with Drazil65. If you are willing to do this group a big favor, research one or a few cruises, try to list as many options that might be possible. Then hand them your research and see if the group can even come to a decision on which cruise to take. If they get that far, then offer to show them how to get information on questions they might have. *** Advise them to go to CruiseCritic.com and ask their questions here *** Tell them it's not worth anyone's time to deal with 30+ people unless the are being paid, and they can call any given cruise line or a TA to complete the booking themselves.

[cynt]

I have 5 group cruises under my belt. If these are active seniors that are well traveled I would consider it.

 

If you decide to do it pack your patience. I usually work directly with the cruise line to book our cruises. Working with a middle man drives me crazy. 

 

Half the people will not pay a deposit. Half of the people who paid a deposit will not pay the final payment. Set your expectations low. 

 

Be prepared to answer any and all questions about EVERYTHING. If you are not a frequent cruise addict Do Not Do It. 

 

If you are not flexible and can't pivot to plan B don't do it. You can not control a group of grown folks. 

 

I have found that it is easier to refer everyone to my PVP to book. I don't mess with group cruises on Carnival. I send everyone my cruise details and let them call my PVP. I pass along my flight details and hotel details and let everyone book their own. 

 

Group cruises are fun but require a lot of work. You can not vacation with everyone. Group or not. Sometimes you have to tell people no. I refuse to vacation with my bro n law or one of my cousins. Big time complainers, about everything. Nothing makes them happy. So I just leave them at home.

 

Think long and hard about this decision. And remember It Is Your Vacation too. My groups knows, once I get you on the ship, I'm done! Go to Guest services with your questions.

 

My next group cruise is Alaska Summer 2024. I'm actually keeping quiet about it in hopes people forget. LOL! My normal 4 cabins with my core 8 people are always ready to book. I'm debating if I'm going to open it up to others. We'll see.

 

Happy planning! 

Edited May 7, 2023 by cynt